Biography
Sergi Casanelles is a Catalan-American composer and scholar born in Barcelona. His research approach combines analysis of the praxis with theoretical models. It focuses on the intersection between postmodern philosophy—from McLuhan, Baudrillard, and Umberto Eco—technology, screen music aesthetics, and film language. He defined the Hyperorchestra as a virtual ensemble that utilizes technological innovations to provide a customized sound palette that generates unique meanings for audiovisual narratives. The hyperorchestra incorporates a spectral approach to music, whose purpose is generating meaning for audiovisual narratives.
His book, The Hyperorchestra: Screen Music and Virtual Ensembles (2024), provides a comprehensive approach to his theory of the Hyperorchestra and its effects on contemporary screen music aesthetics.
As a composer, he has written music for piano, chamber ensembles, orchestra, electronics, and music for the screen. He has also worked as an orchestrator. He won the COM Radio Tutto Award for his solo piano piece Postlude to Chopin’s F minor Fantasy and the III Orchestral Composition Competition Evaristo Fernández Blanco for his work From Hell: 4 scenes of Dante’s Divine Comedy. The Spanish PRO SGAE awarded this piece’s premiere as one of the top premieres of the year.
He holds a Ph.D. and an MM in Screen Music Composition from NYU, a BS in Computer Science (UPC, Barcelona), a BM in Composition (ESMuC, Barcelona), and a BM in Piano Performance (Liceu, Barcelona).
As the Program Manager and Faculty of the Screen Scoring Program at NYU Steinhardt, a top program in the field with over 120 students, he leads and coordinates a team of more than 25 faculty members.
Some of his works have been published by Brotons & Mercadal.
Selected Press Reviews
“The work surprises and satisfies for its construction, its powerful instrumentation without losing the capacity to evoke and to write beautiful melodies […] with very clear lines and melodies which attract the audience from the very first moment. […] In the second scene, called “Paolo and Francesca”, a beautiful melody is converted into an awesome melodic theme, which could be a part of the best film soundtrack with all the features to succeed in this field” Roberto San Juan (about From Hell)
“[..] the very young composer from Barcelona Sergi Casanelles impressed the Leon audience (it was completely quiet during the performance) with his work, completely deserved winner of the III Composition Competition Evaristo Fdez. Blanco” Julio M. Alejandre (about From Hell)
“Casanelles starts from references of Rachmaninov’s music and includes the big music in the style of the epic moments of the film music” Jordi Maluquer [2008] (about Three sketches in the form of Scherzo)
“From his friend Casanelles, a young composer in his 20’s, he performed in the first place his Postlude to Chopin’s “Fantasy”. This is a tonal work, very well composed in a post-romantic character, very good labor from a young composer.” Juan Krakenberger (about Postlude to Chopin’s f minor “Fantasy”)
